Editorial: Hajj Policies and Procedures Saudi Arabia reduced the quota for Sudanese and other pilgrims for the hajj by 20 percent due to expansion construction work in the holly city of Mecca to make it possible to receive more pilgrims in the upcoming years. Since then it was expected from the concerned authorities in Sudan to launch a broad awareness campaign to advise those who performed Hajj before to postpone it this year if they are intending to go in order to avail the chance to those who are going for the first time. The concerned authorities could have issued policies and procedures to control the process through specific measures including the ages or even making a draw for the applicants just like what happens in other countries. Unfortunately, none of the above was done and as a result applicants rushed to the centres allocated for this purpose in an attempt to compete in the limited number available this year. All the quotas allocated for each state were completed in the first day amid great sufferings among the applicants due to the unprecedented stampede. The exception was in Gedaref as the registration procedures have stopped immediately after the incident and most of the applicants left the center in panic and shock. Twelve people including 10 women were killed and 3 others injured in a stampede that took place Gedarif when a wall at school building used as registration site for pilgrimage collapsed. We believe that the authorities should shoulder part of the disaster because as we said above there was no awareness campaign. Authorities in Gedarif state began investigation, while some have criticized the pilgrimage department saying that the precautionary measures weren’t enough. The hajj application process proved its failure in the previous years, so why didn’t the government hold a workshop to assess and evaluate the process and come out with ultimate solutions. It is every year dilemma where applicants complain from the procedures and the concerned authorities give blind eye and deaf ear to the complaints. The disaster of Gedarif should be reacted to seriously instead of looking for excuses to justify the failure. We urge the Hajj Corporation to review the system and to hold workshops and forums to be attended by professionals to come out with binding recommendations aiming at avoiding any shortcomings in the coming season.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 12:47:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015